I’ve been incredibly passionate about Open XML since it’s early beginnings. I remember back in the day I was very excited about the possibility of generating .NET server-side Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. I also had the opportunity to manage the Open XML Format SDK 1.0 documentation release, design a poster, and I also wrote for a few years a series of blog posts and MSDN technical articles about Open XML, the SDK, and how to use it.

Since then, the Open XML Format SDK has evolved significantly proving us a .NET API, documentation, and tools to help us simplify our task of generating documents programmatically.

What is the Open XML SDK 2.0 for Microsoft Office?

The Open XML Format SDK 2.0 is a superset of the Open XML SDK 1.0. In addition to the functionality provided by the Open XML SDK 1.0, it leverages.NET Language-Integrated Query (LINQ) and provides classes to construct and query the contents of parts within a package. You can use functional construction for composing documents, and LINQ queries for extracting information from documents.

The SDK is a collection of classes that let developers create and manipulate Open XML documents – documents that adhere to the Office Open XML File Formats Standard. Because the SDK provides an application program interface that lets developers manipulate Open XML documents directly, they can do so without the need for the Office client products themselves in both client and server operating environments.

Open XML SDK 2.0 for Microsoft Office offers a number of tools and resources to improve programmatic document processing thus making a task of the developer more efficient. The SDK also carries an interoperability improvements for open XML implementers as well as it is designed to let Open XML developers build high performance client-side or server-side solutions that handle complex operations using only a small amount of program code.

Microsoft has released an RTM version of Open XML SDK 2.0 for Microsoft Office today. If you haven’t already, you can download it and find the online documentation versions here:

Distribution and requirement notes

Open XML SDK 2.0 is freely redistributable by any solution provider implementing the formats.

Office applications are not required to use the Open XML SDK 2.0, and no software purchase is required. Developers can freely use the Open XML SDK to build document processing solutions for Microsoft Office files and for other implementations of the IS29500 standard.

Open XML content on MSDN

I want to use the remainder of this post to provide you all with a run down of most popular Open XML programmability content and detailed links to MSDN Developer Portal pages where you can find lots of articles, videos, and code snippets.

First, the Open XML Developer Center on MSDN provides you with a mix of community content, articles, learning, getting started, and technical content categorized by scenarios and technologies. Here are detailed links to all our top level entry pages:

Second, take a look at our cool Open XML Developer Center on MSDN Silverlight rotator where you can find Open XML Essential resources including latest news about the Open XML SDK 2.0 for Microsoft Office and community resources.

Using Open XML 2.0 you can create and edit documents on the server without needing to resort to COM-based Office automation. This session presents a basic understanding of how to use Open XML 2.0 for creating documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. It also describes how to use the Open XML SDK and other various tools to make your development life easier. This session provides everything you need to start building document automation processes.

Finally, if you want to take a deep dive into Open XML technical content, here’s a detailed list of most popular MSDN content: